


A New Life

by ookamijudge



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abusive Petunia, Gen, Magical Dudley, Manipulative Dumbledore, Mentor Snape, Nice Dudley, Nice Vernon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-17
Updated: 2014-02-17
Packaged: 2018-01-12 19:58:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1197573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ookamijudge/pseuds/ookamijudge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vernon knows nothing about magic and next to nothing about Lily. When he comes home one day to find Harry locked in the cupboard things will take a drastic turn from the life Dumbledore meant for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Family is Family

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is dedicated to Nadine from Kamerreon's Y!Group as she is the one gave me the Plunny for this.
> 
> Betaed by: Christi again from Kamerreon's Y!Group Thanks much to her :D

For those who knew the family at number 4 Privet Drive in Little Whinging Surrey located in England, they would call them normal, perfectly normal and the perfect family and before the Halloween of 1981 they would have been right. It was that day that they gained a new and unexpected family member in the form of Petunia's sister's son, one Harry Potter. Sure it would mean more bills, more money, and another child to care for, but for one Vernon Dursley, that didn't matter after he read the letter left with the boy he found on their stoop the next morning when he went to get the paper. The boy was his nephew and he had no other living family and while he could tell that Petunia didn't seem quite as willing to take the boy in, she didn't argue when he pointedly informed her: Family was Family and the boy was their family.

The young Vernon had never known why his wife wasn't a fan of her sister and spoke her name as if it were the worst filth, but he had never thought much of it until four years after they took in his nephew. It had been a short day at the office for the man, but his boss had let him go early to spend the holiday with Dudley, Harry, and Petunia, for which he had been grateful as he had been late to Harry's birthday a couple of month's before and sadly missed the entire party, though his wife told him Harry and Dudley had had a good time which had been enough.

He had spent the entire trip home planning out the rest of the family's evening. They would have a nice dinner, get the boys dressed in their costumes, and go out and get them both loads of candy. Vernon wasn't sorry to admit that it had probably been his second favorite holiday as a child and it had showed too. But in an effort to set a good example for the boys he had been trying to be a better man and that included trying to make more time for them and to eat better.

He didn't think much of not being greeted at the door by his wife and the boys thinking that maybe she had just taken them to the park or a last minute trip to the store for dinner things. But a shaky call of "Aunt 'tunia?" from the area of the stairs had him stopping in his tracks and the grin fading in seconds.

Harry could hear the steps pick back up after a moment, and he pulled back from the door whimpering as he suddenly realized one important thing: that wasn't his aunt it was his uncle. He pulled back onto the cot in the cupboard pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms about his legs staring at the door with wide eyes as the footsteps stopped in front of his room. He hunched his shoulders, his hair falling into his face, as he tried to hide from the fact that he was about to be hurt. His aunt had always promised to tell his uncle when he did 'freaky' things. He hadn't been doing them long, but she had seemed very upset when she found him and Dudley in the backyard giggling over a snake. He hadn't known it was bad! The snake had just been there and it had been so nice! "Sorry Uncle Vernon. Promise not ta do it 'gain." He promised as the door was swiftly pulled open "Be good boy. Promise."

Vernon's eyes widened at the sight of his nephew cowering from him. Without thought, he reached towards the boy, flinching when the boy cringed back from him. "Harry?" he questioned carefully. "What are you doing in here? Where are Petunia and Dudley? Did something happen to them?" The last question added in a suddenly panicked voice.

"Sorry. Be good boy, be good, promise. Dudley just wanna see flower, just wanna show Dudley flower." Harry informed his uncle, unable to help the tears that were making tracks down his face.

"Harry what are you sorry for? Did something happen? Why don't you come over here and tell me. I won't be upset I promise." Vernon assured the crying boy as he took a small step back before kneeling and offering his open arms to Harry. He could see the boy hesitate and offered him a reassuring smile, glad when Harry hesitantly made his way off the cot and into his open arms. He could feel the small body was tense in his arm and thin, too thin. How had he never realized how thin his nephew was? "Harry my boy, what is wrong with you. Aren't you eating?" He questioned, only to be answered by the rather loud rumble of the young boy's stomach, which was quickly followed by Harry breaking down into sobs.

Vernon would never claim to be the best at comforting someone and it showed in the awkward look on his face and in his actions as held Harry close and moved into the living room holding the thin boy in his lap as he cried. He didn't know how long he sat there, but by the time he heard the front door open, Harry had cried himself out and fallen asleep in his lap. The five year old's hands were still clutching his shirt tightly in his sleep as if he thought Vernon might disappear or something which just made the man frown even more. He couldn't entirely keep away the smile as a loud call of 'Daddy' was soon followed by Dudley tearing into the room and only /just/ stopping himself from jumping into Vernon's lap.

Vernon removed one arm from Harry offering it to Dudley, mentally frowning at the slightly confused yet happy look on his son's face at the sight of his cousin. It didn't take long for his son to move into the one armed hug or for his wife to follow him into the living room, her face pale and her eyes wide. "Harry was tired and not feeling good. Dudley do you want to help Daddy look after him?" Vernon questioned when Dudley pulled back finally, still looking Harry over. He only just managed to hide the look of relief on his face when his son grinned widely and nodded eagerly. "Lets take Harry to bed then and you can sit with him and let me know when he wakes up, ok? When he does why don't we all go out for some dinner before we go trick or treating. How's that sound?" he asked, unable to help a chuckle at the eager look on Dudley's face as he moved back enough to let his dad up.

After discovering the lack of a proper bed in what he had always been told was Harry's room, he settled Harry in Dudley's bed at his son's insistence before making his way back downstairs. The rather cold look in his eyes as he met his wife's gaze froze her in her place as she opened her mouth no doubt to try and explain. "I can't believe you. I know you didn't get on with your sister, but to do that to a child?" he offered, his voice as cold as his gaze.

Petunia frowned, not about to apologize for the way she treated the boy. "She and that Potter were freaks and he will be, too. I'll not have it in my house. We took him in and he is alive, that is more then he deserved the freak. My sister went and got herself blown up and /we/ get the boy?" she spat, venom evident in her tone.

Vernon narrowed his gaze. He had heard her say before she didn't like her sister or James, but this seemed to go beyond that and what was this about 'blown up'? Hadn't the letter said something about a car crash? Well whatever it was, he didn't care. Harry was their family and like he had told her four years ago: Family was Family. "I don't care how you felt about your sister. He is a boy Petunia, just a /boy/. You can dislike his mother and father all you want, but he is still family." He growled "How long has this been happening? How long have you kept him under there?" he added, after a short pause. His mind suddenly started going though the last four years, the colour draining from his face the longer he thought about it. He suddenly remembered her insistence that he not say goodnight to the boys. How she always got up first. How she insisted that he didn't use the room under the stairs anymore. How he always seemed to miss Harry's parties. Detail after detail started to poke and prod at him, making him feel beyond sick. He knew he had been working too much, but surely… "Since we took the freak in. I won't have him around my Dudley, him and his freakyness." Petunia hissed.

Vernon sunk into one of the chairs in the living room. How could he have not seen it? How could he have missed the signs so horridly? Was he really at work that much that it was so easy for him to miss such things? He was vaguely aware that Petunia was still spitting venom about her sister, but eventually she left. He had no clue where she had gone, which he was grateful for. Once she was gone and he was able to calm down, he made his way back to Dudley's room, glad to see Harry awake once more and talking with Dudley. It seemed whatever attitude that Petunia had towards her sister's son hadn't managed to corrupt their son, at least yet. He was going to have to do something about it. He didn't know how his wife could do this to a child, her own blood, but he couldn't let it continue. He told the boys to get into their costumes. They were going to go out for dinner, he just had a couple of calls to make first.

Upon returning downstairs, his first call was to the doctor. He was unable to help the new flair of anger when the pediatrician they took Dudley to, said he had never even heard of Harry. He kept himself calm enough to make an appointment for the boy and told him that he would do his best to explain tomorrow before phoning his boss. He was glad to find the older male still at work. And while he didn't explain, the tone of his voice must have been enough, because the other agreed to give him a week off. He had personal time built up. After all, he had been there over five years now. With those settled for the moment, he returned to the boys ushering them to the car. He hadn't had any plans for where they were going, he just knew he needed to get them away from there before he did something he would regret and hurt his wife.

The next week was a blur of visits to various people. Especially after their trip to the doctor. Sure he had realized that Harry felt thin, but he hadn't realized just how bad off the boy was until the doctor started listing off things. He managed to convince the man to hold off filing papers with CPS for a couple days, promising that he would have more papers to file with it shortly and requested a copy for himself. While he didn't want to let the boys out of his sight, one of his co-worker's had a wife and they had a child a little younger than Harry and Dudley. She agreed to watch them for a couple days after he explained what was going on.

His next trip was to a lawyer. While he didn't like it, he knew what he had to do. He had been remiss in not noticing the signs this long. But after having them shoved so blatantly into his face, he couldn't miss how abused both boys were. Poor Harry was starved, and appeared to have been hit or threatened several times, while Dudley was beyond spoiled. He had been trying so hard to set a good example for the pair, how had he missed the fact that his own son was going down the path he had? He couldn't and wouldn't, let it continue. So while it hurt to realize that his 'perfect' and 'normal' life had never been either, he was going to do his best to fix things. Even if it meant leaving his wife.

With papers from the doctor in hand, he went to a lawyer and presented his evidence. While the lawyer was sorely disappointed in him, Vernon was oddly glad when he agreed to help. He did warn that it would be a hard, uphill battle and that there would be a fifty-fifty chance of him getting the boys. He had been sorry to hear it, but he couldn't entirely say he hadn't seen it coming.

A visit from a child psychologist was scheduled for later in the week for both boys, which ended up making things slightly more in Vernon's favor. Both had said it was just Petunia and what had happened. It was easy to tell it was all the wife. And while Vernon felt horrid for not noticing, his quick reaction when he did, got him a few more 'points' with all involved. By the time he made his way back to the doctor, explaining all that had happened, the doctor was more then ready to turn in his findings to CPS. While he still frowned at Vernon over letting it happen, it wasn't quite as severe as it had been when he was checking Harry and Dudley over days before.

He could easily say he wasn't ready to go back to work after his week was over. Especially considering his son and Harry had been taken pending judgment in the case which was being expedited as quickly as possible, given the state of Harry and the severity of the crimes. Needless to say, when the first of the month rolled around and Vernon was contacted and told to come into the local CPS office, he was beyond nervous. The cold look on his face when he was lead into a room where Petunia was already waiting didn't really help things, but it didn't hurt them either.

In the end, it was determined that custody would be taken from Petunia and given solely to Vernon, if only because he had filed for divorce with the lawyer back in September. When he realized just how deep Petunia's hatred of her sister ran, he decided that it would be best for both his son and his nephew. It had been a heavy burden to him, but he just hadn't been able to look at her the same way after her words that night when he found Harry in the room under the stairs.

That night he took the boys home and started packing their things. He liked his normal little house, but it held bad memories now and not just for him so he felt that they needed a fresh start. He had already been looking around before, but now that things were settled he wasn't going to let them languish longer than they had to. It was the work of a couple days to get their things packed up. At least the things that couldn't easily be replaced, beyond a few clothes to live on while Vernon worked out the last of his notice. He liked his job and had been there for years, but a fresh start was a fresh start. He had some money saved up. Enough to make a couple payments on the new house and keep them in the necessary things for a couple months while they settled in and he found a new job.

Vernon still wasn't sure how he was going to make this work, but as he pulled into the drive of what was to be their new house he promised himself that he would find a way. He didn't know what made Petunia hate Lily so, but Harry was his nephew and family was family. He wouldn't let his family suffer for any sort of inane hatred on his former wife's part.


	2. Sorting Things Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betaed by: Christi again from Kamerreon's Y!Group Thanks much to her :D

While Vernon had anticipated some settling in, those first months were even beyond what he had considered. Though that unexpected element could potentially be because he hadn't been as close to Harry or Dudley before this as he would have liked. He had of course been told about what he could potentially expect from one or both boys, but if he was honest with himself he would have to admit that he hadn't properly listened to everything.

The first indication he had that something was wrong, was the day he got a rather rude awakening. He had gotten the boys into school a week after the start of the new term after winter holidays, trying to give them something stable and to give him time to get the house settled while still looking into a new job. It was about two weeks after that first day in their new school that he had been called down to the school and told that the boys had been fighting.

Harry and Dudley sat across from each other, glaring as harshly at each other as a five year old could manage, which wasn't too convincing. They might not have been to close before this all started that day Vernon had come home to find Harry in the room under the stairs, but they had been as close as they could be, considering Petunia's attitude. She didn't like them spending time together, especially when they were being friendly and both boys knew that too. They were still a bit young, especially with the way her tune changed so much when Vernon came home, for them to be at each other's throats or anything of that sort though. Since the divorce had started, and they had been separated from Vernon and Petunia, things had grown strained between them, as Dudley blamed it all on Harry in the way a child, especially one too young to properly understand, was want to do. It had all finally come out that day at lunch, when Dudley had informed Harry of as much and Harry had retorted in kind only blaming it on Petunia for his part.

Needless to say, when Vernon heard the whole story from the principle he hadn't been at all happy, with the boys or himself. Sure he wanted things to be perfect and normal again, but he was now a single father raising two boys without a mother and that right there made things less normal. Despite that though, he had somehow convinced himself that both boys were fine and wouldn't need any help from any silly mind doctors. He was wrong. At least he might be. He would rather keep this from others if he could, but as he walked back out of the office and took in the boys, he wasn't sure he would be able to deal with this on his own. He ushered both boys out of the building and back home where he promptly sent them to their rooms with a sharp word to not come out until he came to get them for dinner.

He spent the next couple of hours trying to get his own thoughts together on the matter and making a call to the psychiatrist that had originally interviewed the boys. He didn't want to take either of them to see that psychiatrist, or a different one for that matter, but he would talk to that one if it meant helping his family. After a bit of talking and getting advice he managed to calm down enough that he felt it would be ok to let the boys out and so he had. He had retrieved them from their respective rooms and led them to the small table in the kitchen where they were told to sit while he worked on preparing dinner. He had never been the best cook, but he had been working on it for a couple of months now and could manage some basics without burning them. As he settled into the cooking, he turned half his attention to the loudly whispering pair of boys at the table. "Boys." He waited until they both were quite and looking at him before continuing. "We need to have a talk."

"I didn' do anything.." "…his fault he was the…" "..said it was my fault…" "..wan' mum back…" "…said she wasn't a good mum."

Vernon looked away from his cooking as the boys spoke over each other trying to be heard and forced himself to stay calm. He had to stay calm so he could get, and keep them calm and they could talk this through. He didn't want to admit it and probably wouldn't admit it aloud even under threat of death, but he really did have a great love of 'normal' and this wasn't it, but he was going to do what he could to make it normal. He needed normal, and right now the boys did, too. At least according to the psychiatrist, and she had even said it had been a good move for him to get them back in school so quickly. "Calm down," Vernon said with a frown. "I can't hear you if you are both talking at the same time. Now Harry, apparently you threw the first punch, so why don't you start. Why did you hit Dudley?"

Harry shifted his attention to his lap when both his uncle and cousin's attention was settled on him, unable to help the uncomfortable feeling the attention gave him. He still wasn't used to not being blamed for every little thing that happened every day, and while it had never been his uncle that did so, it was Vernon whom he spent more time with now, so he couldn't help fearing it some. He glanced up at his uncle through his bangs to find that the older male was once more paying attention to the food, and not him or Dudley, which made it easier.

The still too thin brunette clenched his hands before forcing himself to speak again "I didn't do anything. Dudley said it was my fault we had ta leave Aunt Petunia. I told him you said it was cause she wasn't a good mum. Dudley said I was a liar, an she was a good mum. Dudley said it was my mum wasn't a good mum because she left me an I hit him. Mum didn't left me, she didn't." By the time he was through, Harry was crying. He just knew his mum couldn't have been a bad mum, she /couldn't/. Aunt Petunia just didn't know her. That had to be it.

Vernon glanced at Harry from the corner of his eye. He wanted to stop and address this, but he was trying to 'do this right,' so he had to let Dudley have his say first. Rather than addressing Harry directly, he nodded, indicating that he had heard and understood the explanation. "The others said you were provoking him Dudley, so how about you explain to me why," he offered, glad to hear how calm he still sounded.

Dudley offered Harry the glare that they had been practicing when Vernon had picked them up earlier in the day before crossing his arms over his chest with a huff. "Harry lied. Said that mum wasn't good mum. That was why we left. He said /you/ said that to hims, and I tells hims he is liar. That hims mum wasn't good mum. She not either. Mum said so. Then Harry got ma's an hit mes, so I hits him back. I's /hims/ fault we has ta weave mums. We could be with mum, if Harry wasn't here," he informed his da, sounding just as sure of his point of view as Harry had.

Vernon sighed and turned the stove down. He wasn't making much, just a simple stew, so it would hold. But he didn't want to risk it burning while he tried to settle this. He made his way to the table, pulling out one of the two empty chairs. Settling in, he gave both five year olds a stern look. "Now boys, I want you both to listen to me and listen to me good," he informed them, making sure he had the attention of both, focused solely on him. "Petunia was not a very good mother," holding up his hand when Dudley started to speak. "She loved, or rather, loves you Dudley, but she was not a good mother. We took Harry in after his mother and father, your aunt and uncle Dudley, died in a car crash. Petunia didn't really get along with her sister, Lily. I don't know why. She never told me. I just know she didn't get along with her. We took Harry in, though, when some people who knew about us because of Lily, brought Harry to us after they were killed by a man called Voldemort. Harry had been in the car when they were hit by him. That is where he got the scar on his forehead from, in fact," he explained, pausing there to let the boys absorb that for a moment, before continuing.

"Lily and James, Harry's parents, loved him as much as Petunia and myself love you Dudley. They just weren't around to look after him anymore, so Lily's friends thought we could. We had never met Harry before that night, but his parents were gone and he was as much family as you are to me so, I insisted we take him in. It is my fault that I didn't notice sooner that Petunia wasn't being a good mother. When we took Harry in, she ended up agreeing that we would look after him. That means she was supposed to be Harry's mother as much as she was yours Dudley. In the end, she failed you both, not just Harry." He shifted his gaze from one boy to the other, forcing them to meet his gaze. Trying to decide if he was managing to get though to either of them.

He wasn't entirely sure they understood everything he was telling them, but they were listening and paying attention, which was a very good start as far as Vernon was concerned. "Your mother failed you, Dudley, in the exact opposite way she failed Harry. I love you, but you should not have gotten every little thing you wanted, especially while Harry got nothing. Not only was it not right, but it is not a good way to grow up. You can't grow up thinking everything is just going to be given to you, or thinking that you don't deserve anything. You both deserve to be little boys," he paused once more, looking them both over, still trying to decide how much they understood, but he had a feeling he would have to have this talk again one day when they were older for them to properly understand.

For the next part, Vernon shifted gears a bit, hoping to try and soften this next part as much as he could. "Dudley, when your mum told me she was pregnant with you, I was so overjoyed. I was going to be a father. As the months passed though I couldn't help stepping back to look at my life. I had not exactly been the best man and I decided that I wanted to be better so that I could be a good example for you. I know you don't remember, but I used to be much bigger than I am now," he informed both boys. "When I found out about you though, Dudley, I decided I wanted to change. I knew the looks I got, and the cruel words. I didn't want you to have to deal with them. I spent plenty of time after that losing some of the weight I had put on and tried to start eating better. I started working out. It was a lot of hard work. It still is. But I wanted to be a good example for you. Both of you. Even once Harry joined us. Dudley, the way your mum has done you and Harry isn't good for either of you. Not giving Harry enough food was very, very wrong. It was just as wrong to let you have so many sweets all the time. We are going to work on both of you, though. Harry is going to be eating his meals like he is supposed to and Dudley you are going to cut back on the sweets," he told them. A bit sad when he saw the mixed look of pain and annoyance that crossed Dudley's face, resisting the urge to cringe when he told himself that he had forgotten how mean kids could be since he stopped being one.

The next day, Vernon took Harry and Dudley to school himself, making sure to get there early so he had time to talk with their teacher for a short moment and explain, for the most part, what was going on. Once she knew what was happening, she had been happy to agree to fill out a short journal every day, for a little while for him on both boys so he could keep up with what they were doing. So for the next couple of weeks, he made time to take them to school and pick them up, to better keep an eye on them. He still wasn't sure how much they had understood of his words, but things did seem to be getting better between them. Things weren't perfect, but there were no more physical fights and he had caught them sitting together a couple of times watching the telly. In short, things were looking better, so maybe even if they were a bit young to understand everything, they understood enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok for those who may wonder about the 'Voldemort Story' it will be better explained later, but for now just remember that Venon knows /nothing/ about Magic in this fic. The note Dumbles left said Voldemort killed Lily and James, but where it was going to Petunia he didn't explain more so for the purpose of this fic the 'Car Crash Story' came from Petunia. While I know Vernon thinks about the note last chapter and thinks it mentioned the car crash it did just mention Voldie… also yes this means the boys will grow up calling him 'Voldemort' who wants to see people twitch ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this chapter was a bit rushed, but it was mainly just to get this started.


End file.
